By Rev. Kirkpatrick Tyler and Rev. Dr. Dwaine A. Jackson
In the life of our Church, we often talk about what qualifies someone for episcopal leadership. We look for theological grounding, administrative skill, and faithfulness to our historic mission. But underneath those stated qualifications runs another list, one we rarely say out loud. We ask whether we admit it or not: Does this candidate look like a Bishop? Do they carry themselves the way the generations before them did?
Consider what happens when a candidate shows a flash of modern personality. A pair of earrings, say. To some, it’s a small thing. To others, it’s a break with tradition. Yet that small thing stands in for a much larger question the AME Church needs to answer: are we actually ready to embrace leadership that doesn’t fit the familiar shape?
A Tradition of Breaking the Mold
Our history belongs to people who would not conform. Richard and Sarah Allen didn’t wait for the existing order to approve of them. They built something new because the old arrangement had no room for the mission God had given them. They reached people where they actually were, even when that meant unsettling the comfortable habits of their day. That is the ground Zion stands on. Not sameness, but the willingness to meet the moment.
If we say we want a Church that is fresh and relevant, we have to be honest about our own resistance. We ask for growth, but grow nervous around the leaders most likely to bring it. We say we want to reach the next generation while quietly insisting our leaders resemble the last one.
Leadership for the People, Not the Status Quo
There is a real tension in how we elect. On one side sit those who hold the institutional vote. On the other hand, the people in the pews are looking for a leader they can actually connect with. A Bishop is called to be a Shepherd, and a Shepherd answers first to the flock, not to a set of inherited expectations about appearance that may no longer mean much to the world we serve.
When a candidate is honest, approachable, and committed to the work of the Kingdom, does the style of their leadership really outweigh the substance of their service? Are we backing leaders because they fit the mold, or because they can see where God is taking us?
A Question for Our Future
As episcopal selection approaches, Zion has a decision to make. We can continue to lean into what is comfortable and familiar, or we can start lifting up leaders who bring something we haven’t seen before. Leaders unafraid to be themselves. Leaders rooted in service, who understand that being different does not make someone any less called. This reflection brings to mind two often-used but seldom-exercised quotes:
“If we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always get what we’ve always gotten.” (Jessie Potter), and “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” (Brown, 68)
The question is plain. Are we ready for a Church as bold as the mission we claim? Are we willing to stand behind a leader who breaks the mold if that is the leader who can help us reach the world?
Maybe it’s time to stop asking whether our leaders fit the mold and start asking whether our mold is big enough to hold the future God has in mind for us.
Works Cited
Brown, Rita Mae B. Sudden Death. 1983. Everand, https://www.everand.com.
Potter, Jessie, and The Milwaukee Sentinel. Woman to Woman Conference. 1981. Quote Investigator, https://quoteinvestigator.com.
